Who We AreOur mission is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.

In order to thrive, children need access to the basics: adult guidance and encouragement, safe and enriching places to learn and grow, and opportunities to feel like they are an important part of their families, schools, and communities. For children to stay in school and succeed, they need the help of a caring and involved community. Unfortunately, many children lack these essential assets and are at risk of falling behind. Once behind, they are more likely to drop out.

The mission of Communities In Schools of Puyallup is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.

Since 2002, we have been providing high-impact dropout prevention services to the students of the Puyallup School District. Through our model of Site Coordination, which places trained staff directly inside schools, CIS of Puyallup connects students and their families to critical community resources, tailored to each student’s specific needs.

The CIS model is designed to tackle both academic and nonacademic barriers to learning. We offer targeted, individualized services like our Good Samaritan Readers tutoring program and Weekend Backpacks hunger prevention program, as well as broader school-wide services open to all students, like access to clothing, school supplies and other basic necessities, opportunities for service learning (March Gladness), and Parent Learning Nights that promote early literacy in the home.

Whether it’s tutoring, eyeglasses, food or a safe place to be after school, studies show that when these needs are met, students can concentrate on learning and teachers can focus on teaching. Our strategy is to create lasting and positive change in a child’s life by building a community of support directly inside schools. Working together, we can keep kids on track to graduate and aiming for a brighter future.
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The Puyallup School District, in partnership with our diverse communities, educates and inspires students to reach their full potential.